E.ON Next to Refund £144 to 250,000 Prepayment Customers After Billing Error

• E.ON Next pays £14.5 million after failing to provide final bills and refunds to prepayment customers
• Average refund of £144 includes credit balances and compensation payments
• 150,000 prepayment customers’ debts written off as part of the settlement

Energy supplier E.ON Next has been ordered to refund £144 on average to nearly 250,000 prepayment meter customers after an Ofgem investigation uncovered significant billing failures. The errors, which occurred between February 2021 and September 2023, meant customers did not receive final bills or automatic refunds for account credit balances, averaging £51. Additionally, the company failed to pay compensation for delays, as required by Ofgem regulations.

In total, E.ON Next has paid £14.5 million in refunds and compensation. This includes £4.7 million in credit refunds, £9.8 million in compensation payments, and the voluntary write-off of debts for approximately 150,000 customers.

Beth Martin, Ofgem’s Director for Consumer Protection, said: “Prepayment meter customers often face financial difficulties, and during a cost of living crisis, it’s unacceptable they were denied refunds or final bills. E.ON Next’s actions to address this issue and compensate customers are steps in the right direction.”

Chris Norbury, CEO of E.ON UK, added: “We are deeply sorry to those affected by this system issue. As soon as we identified the error, we reported it to Ofgem and implemented significant changes to prevent future occurrences."